1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to implantable electrodes, and more particularly, to an electrode array for use in medical implants.
2. Related Art
There are a variety of medical implants that deliver electrical stimulation to a patient or recipient (“recipient” herein) for a variety of therapeutic benefits. For example, the hair cells of the cochlea of a normal healthy ear convert acoustic signals into nerve impulses. People who are profoundly deaf due to the absence or destruction of cochlea hair cells are unable to derive suitable benefit from conventional hearing aid devices. A type of prosthetic hearing implant system commonly referred to as a cochlear implant has been developed to provide such persons with the ability to perceive sound. A cochlear implant bypasses the hair cells in the cochlea to directly deliver electrical stimulation to auditory nerve fibers, thereby allowing the brain to perceive a hearing sensation resembling the natural hearing sensation.
The electrodes utilized in stimulating medical implants vary according to the device and tissue which is to be stimulated. For example, the cochlea is tonotopically mapped and partitioned into regions, with each region being responsive to stimulus signals in a particular frequency range. To accommodate this property of the cochlea, cochlear implants typically include an array of electrodes each constructed and arranged to deliver an appropriate stimulating signal to a particular region of the cochlea.